I'm overwhelmed by this tremendous honor of representing Texas A&M, the 12th Man and all my teammates in New York. This is a dream come true for me, and I know it's a credit to all my coaches and teammates. I definitely wouldn't be a Heisman finalist without my teammates and coaches.

Collin Klein:

I'm just honored with this opportunity that the Lord has provided me here at K-State. I'm so proud to represent K-State in this because I feel like my road is very synonymous and in line with the K-State way. It has been a process, it has been a journey. There have been a lot of ups and downs, as well as a lot of hard times and growing pains through it. I'm just very proud to represent the K-State family and our heart and spirit in this environment.

And outside of the finalist, it was actually Graham Harrell that finished 4 with only 213 points (Tebow finished 3 with 1575, losing to Bradfor who had 1726). It took until Mike Crabtree at 5 (with 116 points).

The trophy is supposed to be awarded to "the most outstanding player in collegiate football" for the 2012 season. Saying it should never go to a freshman is akin to saying it should never go to a position other than QB or it shouldn't go to anyone outside the SEC.

"We bring you to Michigan to take care of Michigan; your job is to protect that block M."
-Carol Hutchins

Either Manziel or Te'o are going to win, and you can't say those two guys haven't "stood out." I loathe Notre Dame football, but Te'o is the linchpin of one of the most dominant defenses we've seen in a while -- guy's a *linebacker* and is second in the country in interceptions (thanks partly to, um, Denard).

But Manziel has stood out even more, and that's why he should win. Let me give you season stat lines from two recent college QBs:

Player #1 -- Passing:

Cmp

185

Att

280

Pct

66.1

Yds

2854

Y/A

10.2

TD

30

Int

7

Rushing:

Att

264

Yds

1473

Avg

5.6

TD

20

Player #2 - passing:

Cmp

273

Att

400

Pct

68.3

Yds

3419

Y/A

8.5

TD

24

Int

8

Rushing:

Att

181

Yds

1181

Avg

6.4

TD

19

Player #1: 4327 total yards, 50 TDs

Player #2 -- 4600 total yards, 43 TDs

Player #1 took his team into Tuscaloosa in November and beat Saban's minions, 28-27

Player #2 took his team into Tuscaloosa in November and beat Saban's minions, 29-24

#1 is Cam Newton, #2 is Johnny Football. Manziel's stats are comparable, in some cases better, and against similarly tough competition. And if you watched the A&M-Alabama game, you know he's the reason A&M won that game. I'd hardly call that "underwhelming."

I am happy to see Miller not included (not just because he is a Buckeye) because his numbers simply weren't that great. Good? Yes. Heisman worthy? No. I don't think Klein should have made it either, btw.

If ever there was a defensive player that should win the heisman besides Woodson, it would be Teo. Just a great kid (man) and the heart and soul of his team. This might be blashphemy on this board but I personally think Teo meant more to 2012 ND than Woodson meant to 1997 Michigan.

HOWEVER... Woodson definitely is/was more talented. Juding off importance to a team is what the Heisman should be about, not simply stats.

or the best player in college football? Te'o is very good, but I don't think he's the best player in the country. Then again, the Heisman's mission statement means practically nothing in reality, so who knows what criteria everyone will use to vote.

"We bring you to Michigan to take care of Michigan; your job is to protect that block M."
-Carol Hutchins

Maybe you should make a new award where that is the criteria, but the Heisman is reserved for the most outstanding player in college football. Te'o is fantastic, but I just don't think he's quite there.

I agree that Te'o wasn't more important to his team (we can say as important I guess) and I agree he probably isn't the best player in the country, but I'm not sure any of those guys are. Menziel is exciting and made a lot of plays, but he also made some bad mistakes mostly due to his age. While he is very talented, I'm not sure he's the best. Klein may be the best of the bunch, but he's still probably not the best in college football.

I'd venture to argue the best player in college football one of the great DT that are currently playing college ball, or even one of the 'Bama O-lineman (possibly the guy who has started at G, T, and C the last three years). You could make an argument for one of USC's WRs too. The field is very even at the top, but my pick out of those three would probably be Te'o, Klein, then Menziel.

I would argue that Manziel at the end of the year is/was the best player in college football. He certainly didn't start out that way, but after a few games, he really turned it on and the mistakes plummeted.

So this stands to reason: does the Heisman winner need to put in a complete season of excellence? Are they allowed to have bad games? Are they allowed slow starts? Just something to think about.

Wait - you think Te'o means more to this year's ND team than Woodson did? You'll need to elaborate on that. Woodson was dominant on defense, offense and special teams. He took over games. What has Te'o done that makes him more important?

But you should have understood what I was meaning. Teo has the leadership skills AND the athletic superiority that few can claim to have. If you think I am an ND fan, I am not. I just think if ever there was a second Defensive player to win the Heisman, it should be Teo.

Teo is what the Heisman should be about. An extremely talented Senior leader leading his team.

This is NOT what the Heisman trophy is all about. The Heisman trophy has always been very clear about being awarded to the most outstanding player in college football. Who cares what you think it should be about? That's not what this discussion entails.

Also, if you watch the games from 1997, I really don't see how you can claim that team (not just the defense) didn't rest on the shoulders of Woodson. We relied heavily on his special teams ability as well as big plays on offense and not just on his talent on defense.

Teo had 7ints as a LB. That number is absolutely insane. Also, to say that Woodson excelled in all three phases of the game is a bit odd. He returned only one kick for a TD and had some 200 yards receiving. That isn't much. CW won it based on his defensive performance, and there rest was icing on the cake, but doesn't really add anything.

I'm perfectly fine with Teo winning it, and if I had to choose another defensive player to stand with CW it would be Teo.

In UM's biggest game of the year in 1997, it was Woodson's complete game that one the game. If he only contributed in two of the three phases of the game, we would have lost. So even though Woodson didn't rack up a lot of garbage stats, he came up big when it mattered the most.

Additionally, has Teo really done anything memorable? I admit I didn't watch hardly any ND games, but I can't think of anything he did that was really special...

"Additionally, has Teo really done anything memorable? I admit I didn't watch hardly any ND games, but I can't think of anything he did that was really special..."

So you imply that he hasn't done anything memorable, then admit you hardly watched any games and then re-emphasize that you can't think of anything he did that was really special? You already answered why you can't recall him doing anything special...you never watched him play!

Now I understand he plays for a rival team, but everyone has to admit that this years crop of finalists is pretty bland. If there was ever a year for a defensive player to sneak in and grab the heisman, it's this year. Add to that the story lines (which aren't supposed to matter but often do) and I think he is going to win it. In fact, I hope he wins it and I don't htink it makes me a bad UM fan for doing so.

Te'o is a great player and the most dominent player on a great defense. As a LB the guy has 7 picks this year. That is a pretty damn impressive number to go along with all the physical skills he has. On that side of the ball, when ND needed a play it was almost always Te'o who made it.

Now I'm not saying I think he compares to Woodson in any way, but I think given the players he is up against he should win it this year. I think back to some of the other defensive players that have been nominated over the years only to sit beside some offensive freaks and lose...many of them would win in this years class as well. Warren Sapp comes to mind.

I would argue Ndamukong Suh was both more important to his team, and more talented than Teo, and he didn't win. Teo winning would be more an indictment of the other candidates than evidence of his worthiness in my eyes. That said Johnny Football should win this thing easy, his stats are incredible, in a very difficult league.

I hope Te'o doesn't win. I love him as a player, and he seems like a great person, but as outstanding as Woodson? I don't think so. Mathieu was far more outstanding and got 5th. You can argue that Suh's season was comparable to Te'o and he wasn't even close. If he wins it, it will not be about football it will be because of his personal story and because he goes to ND.

He's not going against Chuck, or Suh though. He can't help it that he might not be the best defensive player ever. The question is does he deserve the heisman this year. I wouldn't have a problem if he won it. He's been very good this year.

Perfection is not attainable, but if we chase perfection we can catch excellence.

Yea he's been great, but he only plays linebacker. He doesn't return punts/kicks or do anything on offense even as a decoy. Colin Klein essentially is the offense and Johnny took over for a first round draft pick, moved to a harder conference and his team is better than last year.